Gambella National Park, also spelled Gambela National Park, is a large

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

. It is the nation's largest national park and is located several hundred kilometers from

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa (; ,) is the capital city of Ethiopia, as well as the regional state of Oromia. With an estimated population of 2,739,551 inhabitants as of the 2007 census, it is the largest city in the country and the List of cities in Africa b ...

. It was established in 1974, but is not fully protected and has not been effectively managed for much of its history.

History

Gambella was established during 1974–1975 to protect habitat and wildlife, especially the Nile lechwe and white-eared kob, two antelope species thought to have been endangered at the time. Animal populations in the park have declined because of

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

, cotton farming, hunting,

poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...

, and the creation of

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...

s, especially following the

1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia A widespread Famines in Ethiopia, famine affected Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985. The worst famine to hit the country in a century, it affected 7.75 million people (out of Ethiopia's 38–40 million) or 1/5 of the population and left approximately ...

and by the displaced Sudanese. In 2012, Bantayehu Wasyihun, head of the park's office, said infrastructure development was underway to make Gambella more accommodating to tourists. The park management organization

African Parks African Parks is a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on biodiversity conservation through protected area management, established in 2000 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was founded as the African Parks Management and ...

and

Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa University (; AAU) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, and one is located in Bishoftu, about away. ...

's Horn of Africa Research Centre worked with park officials to draft plans to improve Gambella's security and structure.

Fauna and flora

Gambella National Park has one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Ethiopia. Sixty-nine mammal species are found in the protected area, including the

African elephant African elephants are members of the genus ''Loxodonta'' comprising two living elephant species, the African bush elephant (''L. africana'') and the smaller African forest elephant (''L. cyclotis''). Both are social herbivores with grey skin. ...

African buffalo The African buffalo (''Syncerus caffer)'' is a large sub-Saharan African bovine. The adult African buffalo's horns are its characteristic feature: they have fused bases, forming a continuous bone shield across the top of the head, referred to ...

bushpig :''"Bush pig" may also refer to the red river hog.'' The bushpig (''Potamochoerus larvatus'') is a member of the pig family that inhabits forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and cultivated areas in East and Southern Africa. Probably introd ...

common warthog The common warthog (''Phacochoerus africanus'') is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of ''P. aethiopicus'', but today th ...

Nubian giraffe The Nubian giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis'' or ''Giraffa camelopardalis camelopardalis''), also known as Baringo giraffe or Ugandan giraffe, is the nominate subspecies or species of giraffe. It is found in Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan ...

hippopotamus The hippopotamus (''Hippopotamus amphibius;'' ; : hippopotamuses), often shortened to hippo (: hippos), further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Sahar ...

Nile lechwe The Nile lechwe or Mrs Gray's lechwe (''Kobus megaceros'') is an endangered species of antelope found in swamps and grasslands in South Sudan and Ethiopia. Description Males are an average of long and tall at the shoulders, and weigh between ...

, tiang,

waterbuck The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus ''Kobus (antelope), Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first Scientific description, described by Irish naturalist Will ...

cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large Felidae, cat and the Fastest animals, fastest land animal. It has a tawny to creamy white or pale buff fur that is marked with evenly spaced, solid black spots. The head is small and rounded, wit ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

mantled guereza The mantled guereza (''Colobus guereza''), also known simply as the guereza, the eastern black-and-white colobus, or the Abyssinian black-and-white colobus, is a black-and-white colobus, a type of Old World monkey. It is native to much of west ...

olive baboon The olive baboon (''Papio anubis''), also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae Old World monkeys. The species is the most wide-ranging of all baboons, being native to 25 countries throughout Africa, extending from ...

patas monkey The common patas monkey (''Erythrocebus patas''), also known as the hussar monkey, is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over semi-arid areas of West Africa, and into East Africa. Taxonomy There is some confusion surrounding if there are v ...

and

spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

. The park also hosts herds of

Bohor reedbuck The bohor reedbuck (''Redunca redunca'') is an antelope native to central Africa. The animal is placed under the genus '' Redunca'' and in the family Bovidae. It was first described by German zoologist and botanist Peter Simon Pallas in 1767. T ...

bushbuck Bushbuck is a common name that may refer to one of the following African antelopes: *Cape bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus''), also known as imbabala is a common, medium-sized bushland-dwelling, and a widespread species of ant ...

Lelwel hartebeest The Lelwel hartebeest (''Alcelaphus buselaphus lelwel''), also known as Jackson's hartebeest, is an antelope native to Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Ugand ...

oribi The oribi (; ''Ourebia ourebi'') is a small antelope found in eastern, southern and western Africa. The sole member of its genus, it was described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1783. While this is the only ...

reedbuck Reedbuck is a common name for Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Ea ...

, roan antelope, and white-eared kob. The white-eared kob migration is Africa's second largest mammal migration. In 2015,

and the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority surveyed the park's giraffe population for the first time, and estimated there were between 100 and 120 giraffes. Gambella's giraffes are classified as of the Nubian subspecies. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

designated the protected area as a 'lion conservation unit' in 2005. Three hundred and twenty-seven bird species, including seasonal migrants, have been recorded, including the African skimmer, black-faced firefinch, Carmine bee-eater,

cisticola __NOTOC__ Cisticolas (pronounced ''sis-TIC-olas'') are a genus of very small insectivorous birds formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, but now usually considered to be in the separate family Cisticolidae, along with other ...

crowned crane A crowned crane is a bird of the genus '' Balearica'': * Black crowned crane (''Balearica pavonina'') * Grey crowned crane (''Balearica regulorum'') Some authorities use the term "crowned crane" to refer generally to the genus ''Balearica''. L ...

s, Egyptian plover, exclamatory paradise whydah, African green bee-eater,

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before ...

s, approximately 40 species of raptors,

red-necked buzzard The red-necked buzzard (''Buteo auguralis''), also known as the African red-tailed buzzard, is a species of buzzard in the family Accipitridae which is found in western and northern central Africa. Description The red-necked buzzard is a mediu ...

, red-throated bee-eater, storks,

warbler Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous. Sylvioid warblers T ...

s, and vultures. Plant species along the Akobo and Baro rivers include the ''

Acacia victoriae ''Acacia victoriae'', commonly known as elegant wattle, bramble wattle, prickly wattle, gundabluey, gundabluie or bardi bush, is a shrub-like tree native to Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comp ...

'', ''

Arundo donax ''Arundo donax'' is a tall perennial cane. It is one of several so-called reed species. It has several common names including giant cane, elephant grass, carrizo, arundo, Spanish cane, Colorado river reed, wild cane, and giant reed. ''Arundo'' a ...

'' and ''temba'' ('' Pennisetum petiolare''). The invasive ''

Eichhornia crassipes ''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth, is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range.Saccharum officinarum ''Saccharum officinarum'' is a large, strong-growing species of grass in the sugarcane genus. Its stout stalks are rich in sucrose, a disaccharide sugar which accumulates in the stalk internodes. It originated in New Guinea, and is now cultivate ...

'') have also been reported.

Conservation

Efforts to reduce poaching doubled the number of wild animals in the park between 2008 and 2012.

References

External links

* {{authority control 1974 establishments in Ethiopia National parks of Ethiopia Protected areas established in 1974 Gambela Region Important Bird Areas of Ethiopia

History

Fauna and flora

Conservation

See also

References

Further reading

External links